'Nearly 80 per cent of Londoners support plans for Garden Bridge'

Almost eight out of 10 Londoners back the £175 million plans for the Garden Bridge between Temple and the South Bank, a poll shows.

Some 34 per cent of those asked to what extent they supported or opposed the proposed pedestrian crossing said they were “strongly” behind it and 44 per cent “tended” to favour it.

Only 12 per cent — one in eight — were opposed to the bridge, the “horticultural oasis” vision of Joanna Lumley.

Support was strongest among the young, with 81 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 and 83 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 backing the idea.

The research was commissioned by the Garden Bridge Trust, the charity raising funding and overseeing construction, and conducted by ComRes between July 7 and 12. It also separately polled residents of Lambeth and Westminster, the boroughs linked by the bridge. This showed levels of support roughly the same as for London as a whole at 77 per cent.

Bee Emmott, executive director of the Garden Bridge Trust, said: “It is encouraging to see high levels of support across London for such an innovative project which will improve the environment for Londoners. Residents of Lambeth and Westminster and Londoners in general can see the benefits of a pedestrian footbridge with green space which will become a much-loved London landmark.”

Access for wheelchair users is seen as the most important feature for a new footbridge, with 46 per cent of those polled saying it was needed. This is followed by provision of “pedestrian paths” (41 per cent) and “links with the rest of the transport network” (40 per cent).

Two thirds of the funding will be provided by private-sector donors but £60 million will have to come from the Treasury and Transport for London.

The bridge has been designed by Thomas Heatherwick. Construction will begin next spring and the plantings, supervised by landscape designer Dan Pearson, are due to start in late 2017, ahead of a scheduled opening in summer 2018.